


Of Swords and Fins

by lulles



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heroine's Journey, More characters will show up along the way, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 03:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17737934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lulles/pseuds/lulles
Summary: When Link left Eleanor in a monster-infested area of Hyrule, she knew for a fact that she would be fine—she could take care of herself. And while the monsters were plenty bothersome, falling off a bridge and having to be "saved" by some pompous Zora Prince was, honest-to-Hylia, the most troublesome part of all.





	Of Swords and Fins

The sun’s warm rays painted the stone pavement a rich orange, and a gentle breeze carried the scent of fruits and flowers across the bustling streets of a newly-rebuilt Hyrule Castle Town. Among the crowd was a young man, his dark blond hair tied in a ponytail, and the blue of his tunic blending nicely with the paintings in front of him. He observed them carefully, leaning in closer to inspect the details better.

“Is this one new?” He picked one up.

The girl standing across from him had her back turned, shuffling the contents of the bag strapped to her horse’s saddle. “Yeah.” With an apple held between her teeth, she turned to him while tying her brown hair up into a messy bun. “I finished that one just a couple days ago, actually. Pretty happy with how it came out.” She took another apple from the bag and held it up to him. “Want one?” she asked, tossing it to him once he hummed in agreement. 

“It does look great,” He bit the apple and held the painting out so sunlight hit it at just the right angle. “I’ll take this one. Nine hundred Rupees, right?”

She nodded as he reached for the pouch tied to his belt. A coy smile drew on her lips as the little gemstones were handed to her. Bowing, she said, “Much obliged, Mister Link.”

Link chuckled and shook his head, when someone called out from a bread stand across from them. “Hey, Miss Eleanor! The folks at the bar wanted to talk to you—they said they’re interested in your work!”

“Oh! Great! I’ll drop by before leaving!” she said, and turned to Link with a grin.

He responded with a grin of his own. “Things are going well, huh? I’ll help you take these to the bar.”

Link kneeled down to pick up one of the larger paintings, while Eleanor took the other two.

***

The murmur of countless voices still echoed throughout the streets of Castle Town as Link and Eleanor sat at the stone steps outside the bar, the soft neigh of their own horses almost a lull as they watched people go about their lives.

Eleanor took a slow sip of her cup of milk, before resting it on her lap. “It’s amazing how much’s changed, huh? Castle Town, so full of life… Makes it feel like the Great Calamity was just a bad dream.”

Link simply smiled, his cup of milk already finished.

Eleanor looked at him and gave his arm a soft nudge. “So, traveling a lot? It’s always nice bumping into you.”

“Yeah. Can’t really stay at one place for too long. But I’ve been stopping by Hateno Village more often.

“You do have a very nice house there, after all.” Eleanor scooted a little to give way to a man entering the bar. “Did the shop there start selling other kinds of arrows yet?”

“No.” Link shrugged. “I’ve actually been meaning to go to Ploymus Mountain to collect some. The Lynel that lived there left behind a bunch.”

“Why don’t you go to Tarrey Town to buy some instead?”

“Because it’s cheaper,” he said, and Eleanor laughed at his bluntness. “Want to come along? I’m sure you’ll like the view from up there.”

“And climb that huge mountain?”

“There’s a trail—”

“No, thanks!”

Chin on hand, Link stared at her silently, smiling.

Eleanor’s boots made a clattering sound as she tapped her foot on the ground a couple of times, before glancing at him. “Fiiine. I did always want to go there… Might get some ideas for a new piece.”

Link’s smile grew wider and he got up, taking hold of his horse’s bridle. “Then let’s go. It should take us about a day to get there.”

***

A new road had been built from Tornio Trail through Upland Zorana to make access to the areas surrounding Zora’s Domain easier, but the trail leading to Ploymus Mountain was still steep. The sun had just started to rise, bathing the landscape in beautiful warm colors as they reached the peak.

Eleanor stopped and rested her hands on her knees, breathing out. “The things I do for inspiration…” she said as Link walked past her.

“It’ll be worth it. Just look around you.” He turned to her, arms stretched out while a gentle breeze touched his hair.

“For sure.” She straightened up and looked at the horizon, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sunlight. “Gods, look at this view…”

The sun’s rays reflecting off the blue stones of Zora’s Domain was a sight to behold—so mesmerizing that she barely noticed Link walking off. Although she had never seen a Zora in person, their architectural prowess was known throughout Hyrule, and it was obvious why; the Domain looked beautiful, even from far away.

She breathed in the mountain’s fresh air and her eyes glided over the land one last time, before she turned in the direction which Link had walked off. “How’s the shock arrow hunt going?” she called him out.

A deep, guttural sound coming another way made her flinch. She knew that roar. With bated breath, she turned around slowly, eyes widening at what she saw. “A…Lynel…!” she uttered, taking a step back and instinctively reaching for the sword strapped to her hip. A hand suddenly touching her shoulder made her jolt.

“Shhh.” Link signalled to her. “This way.”

Almost to the point of tiptoeing, they began to make their way around the Lynel. Eyes fixated on the Lynel and following close behind Link, she hit her face on his back when he suddenly stopped moving. A quick look over his shoulder revealed the reason—a fox stood just a few feet across from them, startled and prepared to run at any second. They stood completely still, staring at it, until the fox made a run for it.

“No—!” Link motioned towards it while trying to keep his voice down.

Too late; the Lynel snapped his head toward the fox, catching sight of the two Hylians standing there. His body turned to face them, then stood motionless. In what looked almost like slow motion, he reached for the bow on his back, readying a shock arrow.

“RUN!” Link yanked Eleanor by the wrist and dashed forward.

The monster didn’t waste time and fired a shock arrow in the direction they were headed, landing in front of them and missing their feet by mere inches. Dirt flew around as they planted their feet on the ground to make a sharp turn, heading in the direction of the cliff at the edge of the mountain—to Shatterback Point.

“Didn’t you kill that Lynel?!” Eleanor yelled as another arrow barely missed them.

“That’s a different one!”

Reaching the edge of the cliff, they were forced to come to a standstill. Eleanor stared at the huge drop right in front of them as Link looked back at the Lynel. She heard him ready another arrow, and before she could react Link turned to her frantically. “Jump!”

“What?!”

“I’ve done this before—it’ll be fine!”

“There’s no way we’ll—”

“Just do it!” He shoved her, and jumped right after.

The Lynel let out a loud roar, the sound mixing with the splash of Link and Eleanor hitting the water down below.

Eleanor broke the water’s surface, gasping and hacking as Link emerged. He touched her shoulder and motioned toward the nearest shore. The distance was short yet swimming there felt like taking several laps around Lake Hylia.

“I told you it would be OK,” Link said, and Eleanor glared at him before throwing herself on the ground.

“I really…can’t imagine…what other stunts you pull during your travels.” She took deep breaths, looking at Link as he sat beside her. “What was another Lynel doing there, anyway?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been seeing monsters come back to Hyrule lately.” Link swept a lock of wet hair off his face and took off his boot, shaking out any remaining water from it. “A friend from Zora’s Domain has been trying to find out if there’s a cause for this.”

Link had a Zora friend? He did know all sorts of people!

“So, be careful if you’re going to be traveling around this area,” he continued. “I’d stay around longer, but I have to go back to Castle Town.”

“It’s all right. Hope we bump into each other again soon,” Eleanor gave Link a tap on his arm, and he hummed in agreement.

A few moments passed with only the sound of the lake’s water filling the air. Until Eleanor broke the silence. “Didn’t we leave our horses on the other side of the mountain?”

“Ugh…” Link flopped to the ground.

***

Even though a couple of days had passed, Eleanor was still recovering from the “thrill” of being pushed down Shatterback Point. Foothill Stable sounded like the perfect place to rest while thinking of where to go next. The smell of the hot chocolate in the cup she held was delicious, and it reminded her of this really good latte they made at Snowfield Stable. Maybe she could go to Hebra…

“I tell you, I thought I was done for,” someone said.

Eleanor looked up from her cup and caught glimpse of a glasses-wearing man leaning over the counter, talking to one of the stable owners.

“Can’t believe they’re attacking travellers at Kaepora Pass now.” The stable owner threw his arms up and scoffed. “I hope the people at Tarrey Town find someone to take care of them, and fast. I don’t want no monsters coming this way and scaring off my good customers.”

“I heard they were offering a nice pay in return. Something like, three thousand Rupees.”

“I’d send my son over if he weren’t busy helping with the stable.”

Three thousand Rupees sure sounded nice. And to take care of just a couple of monsters? Sounds like she was headed to Tarrey Town.

**Author's Note:**

> Sidon is great and I've always wanted to create a Hylian OC. Put those two facts together and bam, you have this story. I'll be writing chapters whenever I got the time. Thanks for reading! Oh, and here's a [portrait](https://twitter.com/_lulles_/status/1060590171098374144) of Eleanor.
> 
> Huge thank you to my dear friends [BanishedOne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanishedOne/profile) and [Nurple](https://twitter.com/nurpleynurple) for beta-reading and just being great in general.


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